Trump trial: Judge rebukes Michael Cohen ahead of expected testimony Monday

Former President Trump was in court on Day 15 of his criminal trial in New York.

Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.


What to know about the hush money case

READ MORE: Here's what you need to know about the historic case.


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Westerhout calls Trump's relationship with Melania 'special'

On cross-examination by defense attorney Susan Necheles, Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout sang Trump's praises.

"You thought he was a great person to work for?" Necheles asked.

"Yes," Westerhout said, telling jurors that Trump was a great president.

Westerhout previously testified that she found Trump's relationship with his wife Melania Trump "special," and described their dynamic in glowing terms.

"He was my boss, but she was definitely the one in charge," she said. "I just remember thinking that their relationship was really special. They laughed a lot when she came into the Oval Office."

Necheles sought to pull this thread, asking Westerhout about how they engaged with one another at the White House.

"There were times when I could tell [Trump] was on the phone with Mrs. Trump, and he would say 'Honey ... come to the window,' and they would kind of wave to each other," from the residence, Westerhout said.

Westerhout then stepped off the stand so Judge Juan Merchan could hear the three motions the defense has asked to bring. The judge dismissed the jury in preparation for hearing the motions.

Westerhout's testimony is scheduled to resume tomorrow.


Westerhout breaks down recalling her White House departure

"I am very regretful of my youthful indiscretion," Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout said, explaining that she left the White House after sharing information with reporters at an off-the-record dinner.

Trump appeared to confer with Blanche as Westerhout began to cry.

Fighting back tears, Westerhout said she has "grown a lot since then."

She spoke through tears and choked up as she told the jury about why she wrote her book about her time in the White House.

"I don't think he was treated fairly and I wanted to tell that story," Westerhout said of Trump.


'Sorry, sir,' Westerhout says, testifying about picture frame purchase

In June of 2017, Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout sent Trump Organization executive assistant Rhona Graff a photo and said then-President Trump wanted it framed.

"President Trump wanted to put in a frame to put behind his desk in the office," Westerhout testified. "Behind the Resolute Desk there was a little credenza."

Graff responded that she had no empty frames and offered to go to Tiffany & Co., next door to the Trump Tower, but she said the frames were "on the pricey side," about $650.

"Does DJT want to spend that much?" Graff asked in the email.

"Is this the type of thing that Mr. Trump would want to weigh in on?" prosecutor Becky Mangold asked Westerhout.

"I don't recall another instance like this," said Westerhout, but she said this was a photo of Trump's mother that he wanted it framed.

"We may have made the executive decision without his approval," Westerhout said. She glanced toward Trump sitting at the defense table, and said, "Sorry, sir."


Jurors see example of Trump approving personal expenses

Jurors saw an example of Donald Trump individually approving an expense. Prosecutors showed the jury a handwritten note on Trump's bill for the Winged Foot Golf Club. The bill totaled approximately $7,000.

"PAY," the note said. "ASAP OK."

"Whose handwriting is that?" prosecutor Becky Mangold asked Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout.

"That's the president's," Westerhout said, referring to Trump. "That looks to be a Sharpie or another felt tip pen."


Checks for Trump to sign were sent to bodyguard's home

As questioning of the Trump Organization's bookkeeper continued, Trump, sitting at the defense table, continued to appear to give instructions to his attorneys.

Trump wrote down a note on a yellow legal bad and passed it to attorney Susan Necheles, who read it and then looked up at Trump and nodded in agreement. She then went back to her own notepad and took down a note.

Bookkeeper Rebecca Manochio is testifying as a custodian of records for the Trump Organization, as prosecutors have entered into evidence a series of emails and Fedex records.

The jury sees FedEx invoices for checks Manochio says she sent to Washington for Trump to sign while he was president. They have seen two instances where Manochio mailed checks to the home of Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller, instead of directly to the White House.

Schiller also mailed the checks back, according to Manochio.

Asked who directed her to mail the checks to Schiller, Manochio said that either then-CFO Allen Weisselberg or Trump assistant Rhona Graff told her to do so.

By September 2017, Manochio said she began mailing the checks to Trump's then-body man John McEntee, who would later became the director of the White House personnel office and one of Donald Trump's most trusted aides.

"I will need the boss's personal checks mailed to me," McEntee said in an email to Rhona Graff.

"Who is John McEntee?" the prosecutor asked Manochio.

"Couldn't tell you," Manochio said.